Stocks slid worldwide, trimming a sixth straight monthly gain for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, as lower metal and oil prices dragged down commodity shares and banks fell on concern their rally outpaced their profit outlook.

China led the global slump as the Shanghai Composite Index tumbled 6.7 percent, the most since June 2008, and entered a bear market. Alcoa Inc., Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. and Exxon Mobil Corp. dropped as copper plunged the most in two months and crude fell below $70 a barrel. Morgan Stanley retreated 2.6 percent after Bank of America Corp. said the shares are expensive.

The S&P 500 lost 1.3 percent to 1,016.11 at 12:50 p.m. in New York. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 90.54 points, or 1 percent, to 9,453.66. The MSCI World Index of 23 developed nations slid 1 percent. Eight stocks fell for each that rose on the New York Stock Exchange, the broadest retreat in two weeks.

Speculation that lending curbs in China will damp growth in the world’s third-largest economy pushed the MSCI Asia Pacific Index to a 0.5 percent retreat. U.S. energy, consumer and raw- material producers fell the most among 10 groups in the S&P 500 today, each losing more than 1.7 percent collectively, as all of the main industries declined.

(Bloomberg.com)